Transmigrated into a Grandpa, Embracing the Laid-Back Life-Chapter 7: Cultivation?

"Alright, enough idle chatter, let's get to tonight's main topic." Lin Yu's voice turned serious. "Yesterday I said that for a ship to be sturdy, you need blueprints first. Today, let's talk about the timber for shipbuilding."

"Timber?"

"It's your body." Lin Yu evaluated bluntly. "Your physique isn't even comparable to rotten wood—at best, it's like a waterlogged, decaying stick. A single gust of wind could snap you in half, and you still dream of crossing the sea of suffering? Keep dreaming."

Su Ming's cheeks flushed with warmth.

"So, starting tonight, our cultivation will proceed on two fronts. Studying characters during the day is 'drawing the blueprints,' while at night we must 'select the timber'—no, 'forge the timber.'"

"Master, what should I do?" Su Ming immediately perked up.

"Simple, begin with a basic stance." Lin Yu directed. "Stand up, feet apart, shoulder-width. Yes, just like that. Then, squat down until your thighs are parallel to the ground, and extend your arms straight in front of your chest."

Su Ming followed the instructions, assuming a somewhat crooked posture.

"Master, what is this called?"

"This posture, in ancient traditions, has a resounding name." Lin Yu's voice became profound and mysterious.

Su Ming held his breath.

"It's called the 'horse stance.'"

Su Ming: "..."

"Don't underestimate this stance." Lin Yu sensed his disbelief. "This is the ultimate method to train your lower body strength and core stability. If you ever get into a fight later, standing more firmly than others means you're less likely to fall. If you need to run for your life, having strong legs means you can outrun others by several streets. One extra street could mean one extra life."

Su Ming took a deep breath and sank his center of gravity lower.

It was fine at first, but in less time than it takes for one incense stick to burn, his thighs began trembling uncontrollably.

Beads of sweat formed on his forehead, sliding down his cheeks and dripping onto the ground.

"Back... straighten your back! Are you a boiled shrimp?" Lin Yu's voice roared in his mind. "Tuck in your stomach! Lift your hips! Imagine there's a red-hot iron nail beneath your butt—dare you sit down?"

Su Ming jolted, sharply lifting his hips upward, instantly making his posture much more proper.

But what followed was a needle-like soreness in his thigh muscles.

"What's all that shaking? Did you install sewing machines in your legs?"

"Hold on! Think of Teacher Zhou's ruler! Think of the way your eldest brother looks at you!"

"Every drop of sweat you shed now is capital for survival in the future! Whether I can collect my pension until retirement depends entirely on these legs of yours!"

Gritting his teeth, Su Ming's vision blurred with sweat, his entire body feeling as if it no longer belonged to him.

He felt like he wasn't performing a horse stance, but rather carrying a mountain on his shoulders.

After what felt like an eternity, just as he felt he was about to fall apart, Lin Yu's voice finally sounded again.

"Alright, time's up. Get up."

Su Ming felt as if granted amnesty, his legs going weak as he collapsed sitting on the ground, gasping for breath heavily.

His two legs felt filled with scalding lead, sore, numb, and swollen.

"How does it feel?"

"My legs... aren't mine anymore." Su Ming panted.

"Good, that means the training was effective." Lin Yu said with satisfaction. "This is the first introductory lesson, called 'body forging.' You'll practice this every night from now on. Now, rest a bit, we're moving to the second lesson."

"There's... more?" Su Ming groaned.

"Of course." Lin Yu said matter-of-factly. "The body is the ship, the mind is the captain. Even if the ship is built sturdily, if the captain is blind, it will still hit reefs and sink. Now, we begin training the captain."

"Training the captain?"

"Sit cross-legged."

Struggling to get up, enduring the soreness in his legs, Su Ming sat cross-legged on the earthen bed.

"Close your eyes, don't think about anything."

Su Ming closed his eyes, but his mind became even more chaotic.

The new characters learned during the day, Teacher Zhou's face, Second Brother's gaze, the soreness in his legs... all churned in his mind like a pot of boiling porridge.

"Master, I... I can't do it."

"I didn't ask you to achieve that." Lin Yu's voice was calm. "What you need to do now isn't to chase these thoughts away. The more you chase them, the more persistent they become. Like the stray dogs at the village entrance—if you glare at them, they think you want to play and will keep pestering you."

"Then what should I do?"

"Ignore them." Lin Yu said. "Just sit quietly and observe these thoughts. Watch them come, watch them go. Whether they want to do somersaults in your mind or sing songs, let them be. You are merely a spectator, someone sitting by a river, watching the water flow by. The fish, shrimp, water plants, and rotten leaves in the river have nothing to do with you."

"This method, I call it 'meditation.'" Lin Yu's voice carried a distant tone. "It's a supreme wonderful technique to temper your soul. When your soul grows stronger, your memory and comprehension will naturally improve accordingly."

What he actually thought was: "This is the meditation course I paid big money for in my previous life to cope with the 996 work schedule, mainly for stress relief and improving sleep quality. Never thought I could repurpose it here, packaging it as a cultivation technique—I'm truly a genius."

Following Lin Yu's guidance, Su Ming tried to "watch" the thoughts in his mind instead of driving them away.

He struggled to regulate his breathing—inhale, exhale.

The soreness in his legs remained evident, and a faint stinging pain came from the wounds on his back.

A thought emerged: "My legs are so numb."

Just as Su Ming was about to focus on this numbness, Lin Yu's voice sounded: "Watch it, don't engage with it."

So he tried hard to pull his attention back, continuing to focus on his breathing.

Another thought popped up: "What new characters will Teacher Zhou teach tomorrow?"

"Watch it, don't engage with it."

"Eldest Brother seemed unhappy today..."

"Watch it, don't engage with it."

...

It was like playing a game of whack-a-mole—thoughts kept popping up one after another, and Su Ming repeatedly pulled his attention back to his breathing.

The process was tedious and difficult.

But he didn't give up.

His master said this was a wonderful technique to temper the soul.

He remembered his terrible memory, remembered Teacher Zhou's frustrated expression.

He had to persevere.

Time passed slowly in the silence, the oil lamp's flame flickering gently, casting his elongated shadow.

Gradually, the soreness and numbness in his legs seemed to fade.

The chaotic thoughts in his mind, like children who had tired themselves out from playing, appeared less frequently.

His breathing became long and steady.

At one moment, he truly felt like a spectator by the river, and the world quieted down.

Although it lasted only a brief instant, that unprecedented tranquility and focus shook him deeply.

"Alright, that's enough for today." Lin Yu's voice sounded timely, breaking the stillness.

Su Ming slowly opened his eyes, feeling refreshed and clear-minded, with even his physical fatigue significantly reduced.

"Master, just now I..."

"You've begun." Lin Yu said lightly. "Feels good, doesn't it? Keep at it, the benefits are greater than you imagine. Now, hide the ring properly and go to sleep."

Obediently, Su Ming hung the ring back in the crack of the roof beam.

Lying on the earthen bed, he fell asleep almost as soon as his head touched the pillow.

This sleep was unprecedentedly deep and sweet, completely dreamless.

Inside the ring, Lin Yu's ethereal figure shifted into a more comfortable lying position, as if having completed today's work quota.